1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fasteners and more specifically to fastening systems accommodating a variability in fastening position.
2. Disclosure Information
In the automotive fastening arts, the wide variability in the positioning of structures to be fastened together necessitates the accommodation of a stack-up of tolerances between automotive body structure and the components that are assembled to an automotive body. One exemplary area is that of the fastening of steering column support bracketry to instrument panel structure. A very early example of such fastening is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,611,302 to Bourgon which shows a rigid mounting technique used early in the industry. A modern approach is that illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,373,965 to Bien et al. in which axial flexibility is given to the mounting of a clamp suspended with respect to a fixed bracket below an instrument panel.
The steering columns illustrated in these older patents and other automotive componentry generally uses brackets or other attaching devices which must be joined to a panel structure of the vehicle by insertion of some axial locking fastener through an aperture formed through the panel. None of the prior art devices have been found suitable for accommodating variability in positioning of the componentry in the panel with respect to the three mutually perpendicular axes of a Cartesian coordinate system.